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Tara de Barbarac
Tara de Barbarac is a Scottish half-blood witch born to Wolfgang de Barbarac and Ailidh MacIntosh in Largs, Scotland. She grew up in Portree, on the Isle of Skye, and was Sorted into Ravenclaw House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where she is currently a fourth year student. (('OOC Note: 'This is a work in progress, please do not use anything IC without permission. Meta gaming will not be tolerated.)) Biography Family The de Barbarac family lived in Portree (on the Isle of Skye, Inner Hebrides, Scotland) from early 2010. Wolfgang de Barbarac is a Swiss Muggle who was convicted of theft in late 2010 and deported from Scotland. He met Ailidh MacIntosh in 2007 and their daughter, Tara, was born three years later. Wolfgang (also known as Wolfie) is of both French and German descent, the former on his father's side, the latter his mother's. During World War II, his parents harboured refugees escaping the Nazi regime in their home near the German border in Switzerland until Allies could aid them. This is something of which Tara is very proud. Ailidh MacIntosh was a Scottish half-blood witch who, like her daughter, was a Ravenclaw at Hogwarts. She gave birth to Tara during a short holiday in Largs, Scotland. In 2016, she contracted a particularly dangerous strain of Spattergroit and died in St. Mungo's a few months later. Due to it being so contagious, Tara was unable to visit her mother during this time. Before her death, Ailidh worked as a fishmonger's assistant in a shop that would later employ Tara for summer jobs. Ailidh's father was a Muggle-born, a Hufflepuff, whilst her mother was an Irish pure-blood, also in Ravenclaw. Her mother's family disapproved the match, resulting in their disownment. Early Life As a result of her maternal family's refusal to acknowledge her and her daughter, an old friend of Ailidh's, Stewart and his son, Henry, took in Tara when she died. Stewart, a lifelong resident of Portree and former Gryffindor, cared for Tara from when she was six years old: during Ailidh's admission to hospital, and then fostered her after Ailidh's death. Her intellectually precocious nature (which had resulted in her unusually early entry to Primary school at the age of four), coupled with the emotional turmoil at this point in her life, caused Tara's magic began to make itself known. She was able to summon or banish items from across rooms, and when a Muggle gym teacher called her out when she fell at the vault in class, she accidentally transfigured his whistle into a mouse. Despite being mortified at this magical outburst, she couldn't help but be cheered by the sight of a fully-grown man shrieking as he effectively kissed a rodent. Although she and Henry are the same age, the children did not both receive Hogwarts letters - as Henry was discovered to be a Squib. The children, once close, became distant to one another for a time as they had looked forward to attending Hogwarts together. Their bond was eventually repaired before her first trip on the Hogwarts Express and the two remain in near-constant contact during the school year. With Stewart and Henry, Tara often attends Quidditch matches and Muggle shinty games. The three are supporters of Pride of Portree (Quidditch) and Skye Camanachd (shinty) although, on the rare occasions where matches are held at the same time, Quidditch takes precedence for the magical atmosphere. Time at Hogwarts First Year At Hogwarts, Tara found herself at loggerheads with the Potions Mistress, Professor Zimelda Zemeckis. During the events of early 2022 (when Zemeckis was witnessed by many students, including Tara, hexing the Headmistress, Professor Hannah Fischer), Tara called out Zemeckis on her alleged history as a supporter of Lord Voldemort, comparing her to the supporters of the Nazi regime. As a result, Tara received detention: scrubbing the dungeon floors - a task she undertook with pride. She then, speaking out of turn in class, tried to reason with the professor - explaining that the students were more likely to trust the Ministry witch if she just gave them more information as to the goings-on at the castle - and once more received detention, along with another Ravenclaw and a Hufflepuff. This she never served, however, as Zemeckis was ousted from the school only three days later. Throughout the rest of her second term, Tara mostly studied for her exams. She helped in the repairs of the mysteriously flooded bathrooms; camped in the Great Hall during the storm in which the screams of a fellow student could be heard; and dug deeper into the hag mystery after hearing her foster-brother, Henry's, voice calling for help during a Ravenclaw Quidditch match - despite his being in Portree. After completing her exams, she spent most of the last week outside with her friends and classmates, enjoying the surprisingly good weather. She was disheartened at losing out on the house cup to Gryffindor during the end of year feast and shared a compartment (and birthday cake) with her friends during the train journey home. That year, she spent the summer holidays between Brighton Bay and Portree with Henry, Stewart, Toothless (Henry's black, half-Kneazle cat), and her friends. Second Year Physical Appearance Tara is fairly stout and small, with a square face and electric-blue eyes, and adopts an eclectic style for herself. She favours dresses with either striped tights and ankle boots or white, knee-length socks and ballet flats. Her black hair, a sleek, asymmetric cut, was originally an accident: feeling it had become too long, she attempted to cut it herself with kitchen scissors and the oven door as a mirror. Unable to make it even, she continued cutting until one side was noticeably shorter than the other, but decided to keep it (once tidied by her hairdresser), liking the uniqueness of the look. Having been born with astigmatism, Tara is rarely without her square, thick-rimmed glasses. Personality and Traits *Loudmouthed and stubborn, often to a fault *Confident (if somewhat abrasive) when she wishes *Loyal and defensive of her friends and family - those who insult or belittle so-called outcasts of the magical community (especially Squibs) will generally find themselves on the wrong end of a hex or a furious tirade *Slightly claustrophobic **was once trapped in the broken-down lift of a large department store *Speaks a little Gaelic - just the insults *Terrified of clowns - she doesn't know why; she just is Magical Abilities and Skills Tara has a knack for Potions and Transfiguration (the latter due, in part, to her wand - ebony is well-suited for this branch of magic), and - like her foster-brother - a great interest in Care of Magical Creatures. She enjoys flying but is not a very good Quidditch player, a fact by which she is untroubled. Hobbies and Notable Possessions Hobbies As children, Tara and Henry were extremely energetic and would often go hunting for all manner of creatures, both magical and Muggle - much to their parents' exasperated concern. *Reading *Sailing *Attending Pride of Portree Quidditch matches and Skye Camanachd shinty games *Cooking and baking (with inedible results) *Can often be found singing (mainly to the Weird Sisters or Muggle artists and bands: David Bowie, The Runaways, Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys and The Fratellis) Possessions *Ebony & Dragon Heartstring wand, 12 ¾", Unyielding *Screech owl (Hermod) *"Traveling library"-sized collection of books - both fiction and non-fiction, magic and Muggle *Weird Sisters memorabilia **her mother's LP's (and her old, enchanted gramophone - it can shrink to the size of a teacup for easy transport) **a t-shirt emblazoned with the band's name (on the front) and the lyric "Can you dance like a hippogriff" (on the back) which she wore as pyjamas until she outgrew it *A Cirrus 1500 racing broom, but leaves it at home since she is a poor Quidditch player *A photograph of herself with her mother, taken when she was five years old *A charoite fascinator made in Divination class Relationships Biological Family Tara, despite being fully accepting of Muggles and Muggle-borns, despises her father for what she perceives as his abandonment of her mother. Despite having never met them, she considers only his parents to be her paternal family, being exceptionally proud of their efforts during World War II. For her mother, on the other hand, she feels guilt for not being present during her illness. Due to the infectiousness of Spattergroit, Tara was not permitted to see her mother towards the end of her life. As such, she did all she could to honour her: from learning near-obsessively in the hopes of being Sorted into Ravenclaw, to taking a summer job in the fishmonger's. She holds her pure-blood relatives in disdain but feels little for her Muggle relatives, as all but her paternal grandparents were deceased before her birth. Foster Family Tara is extremely close to her foster-brother, Henry. The two share the ambition to see a Hebridean Black dragon, the species native to the group of islands where they live. After the arrival of her Hogwarts letter, and the discovery of his being a Squib, a rift grew between the children, resulting in them becoming distant to one another. During the trip to Diagon Alley to buy her school supplies, Tara spotted a small, enchanted model of the very dragon they wished to see in person. She bought the dragon as a gift for Henry and the two eventually reconciled. Henry owns Toothless, a black half-Kneazle cat who also happens to be his best friend (aside from Tara), with which she gets along very well. She does not get along so well with Henry's cousin, Scott, whom she describes as "equal parts a child and a perv", and "a complete dick". She takes an agnostic attitude to his maternal uncle, Scott's father, Spencer, calling him "a nob" for his belief that pure-bloods are superior to half-bloods and Muggle-borns (as a result, he insisted that Scott attend the Durmstrang Institute) so Tara rarely sees either during the school year - save for the holidays. She cares a great deal for Stewart, her foster-father, whom she has known her whole life. The money left to her by her mother pays for her school supplies easily, but she feels that she should give back to her foster family for their kindness and so her wages from her summer job go towards her upkeep and that of both Hermod and Toothless. Hogwarts Professors With the notable exception of Zimelda Zemeckis, Tara holds her professors in high esteem and does her best to impress them with both her practical and written work. She favours Roary Mystiere (Transfiguration), Oswalt Digby (History of Magic) and Joshua Wibault (Care of Magical Creatures). Fellow Students Tara respects and admires Cassandra Middles and looks up to the older Gryffindor a great deal. She is friendly to both Sila Warrington and Lukka Rookswood as well as her fellow Ravenclaws, Nina Arnamo and Saffron Foxclaw. Essa Nazari Tara and Essa became friends after the sacking of Draco Romanov, when tried to comfort the Muggle-born girl. The two shared in conspiracy theories about the Hag and tried to investigate. Tara does her best to teach Essa about the magical world, and tries to get her slightly acrophobic friend interested in common wizarding pursuits such as Quidditch. Ivory Bennett (WIP) Tara met Ivory Bennett on board the Hogwarts Express during their first trip to Hogwarts. The two became friends, along with Mina Gray, and remained so, even after Ivory was Sorted into Hufflepuff. Mina Gray Tara met Mina Gray on board the Hogwarts Express during their first trip to Hogwarts. The two became friends, along with Ivory Bennett, and remained so, even after Mina was Sorted into Slytherin. The two girls enjoy a friendly rivalry, in part due to their respective houses, but also over their support of rival Quidditch teams: Pride of Portree and the Wigtown Wanderers. Indeed, their first meeting involved a debate over each team's relative merits - and how, whilst the Prides had only done so twice, the Wanderers had never won the League. Tara was initially wary of Mina, having heard of her family's reputation, but soon warmed up to her once witnessing the future Slytherin's acceptance of Ivory, a Muggle-born. Rumours and Gossip "Something's off about how she acts when people mention Squibs..." She doesn't appreciate how people treat Squibs - like Henry. Especially those in their own families (cough, Spencer, cough). ((has received reasonable circulation; can be used in RP by anyone who attended History of Magic classes with her towards the end of her first year, otherwise must first interact with her on the subject)) Behind the Scenes *''Tara de Barbarac'' is a character portrayed by TaraTheBarbarian Resident in the virtual world Second Life® @ Mischief Managed, a devotional sim created by Anya Ohmai and voluntarily maintained by various creative Administrators and players. You can find out more information here: http://mischiefmanagedsl.net *She has the alts XOXheartAmy Resident and GambitsObsession Resident *The character of 'Tara de Barbarac' was originally created for "How To Train Your Dragon" as a Celtic pirate known as 'Tara the Barbarian' **this name, and the idea of her life of piracy, was borrowed from the animated television series "Xcalibur" ***'Tara' has many meanings in many cultures. Most notably, it is Irish (meaning "rocky hill", a reference to the mostly-inhospitable Scottish Highlands and her Irish grandmother) and Indian (meaning "goddess of the sea", a reference to her origin's pirate career and her modern incarnation's love of sailing and life on an island) ***her modern incarnation's surname 'de Barbarac' is from the film "Ever After", chosen for its similarity to the word, 'barbarian' **her appearance, wand, and much of her personality is that of her creator *Her origin as a character from a Viking series inspired the use of the name 'Hermod' for her owl (the name 'Hermes' was already claimed canonically by Percy Weasley - much to the annoyance of her creator, a follower of Hellenismos), after the Norse messenger god * After her two detentions; smashing a keg of pumpkin juice in the Great Hall during dinner after a Defence Against the Dark Arts class (it was homework - practice the knockback jinx on various objects in the castle); and, in a later DADA class, accidentally jinxing Professor Blanche Ipswich's cat, Ambrocious, and blowing up a blackboard, it was decided that Tara's personal anthem was David Bowie's Rebel Rebel *Tara's IC friends, Mina Gray and Ivory Bennett, are portrayed by her creator's OOC friends Category:Ravenclaws Category:Students